For about five years now, our children have been collecting patches as travel souvenirs. They each have a blanket that serves as a scrapbook of the places we have been. In planning this trip, Jere even set aside a "patch budget" for continuing the tradition.
Our visit yesterday to the St Louis arch (or the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial as it should be called) represented our final sightseeing venue. Last night, Jere counted out all the patches and took a photo for you to see. Each kid is going home with 14 patches to remember this family adventure.
We are honing the art of Patch Acquisition (is there a patch for that?). After visiting a venue, we check out the gift shop for patches. It is a contest to see who can find them first. If there is more than one style to choose from, everyone is gathered together to decide. We rejoice when we find patches for $1.99, and groan when they are over $3.50. We have developed preferences about what kinds of borders we like best and everyone can distinguish the quality of the thread in a patch.
Did you know there was so much to learn about patches? You do now!
Wow! That is so cool that you do that! On our 7 month trip we collected Jr. Ranger badges from all the national parks we went to. I got to collect over 30! Now, I have something from each national park. :) I'll see you guys on Monday.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea to collect patches! We will now be looking for our own patches on our upcoming road trip.
ReplyDeleteThis is so fun! We have been enjoying every bit of your adventure. Dave does have a question though. He wants to know how Jere is enjoying driving across the country in a kilt.
ReplyDeleteHi Rebecca: we also collect stamps in national park passports, so our kids have had fun with that. Those are all fun keepsakes!
ReplyDeleteHi Johnna: have fun collecting patches! It has been a great memory builder as we look back over patches and talk about where we have been. Have fun on your vacation!
Hi Monya: no kilts for Jere on this trip. But maybe for an upcoming dance??? We look forward to seeing you both soon.